Ruined by Lynn Nottage - Essay Example

In her 2007 play, Nottage paints shocking and evocative portraits of the lives of African Americans while portraying the horrific sufferings and brutalization suffered by them during the decade-long civil conflict that took place in the Congo. The clear message of Nottage was to bring about an awareness among the people about the atrocities meted out to the minorities of African Americans and to put an end to such practices in the future. Through the darkest moments of ‘Ruined’ there emerges and shines out awe-inspiring nobility and profound tenderness that melts the heart.

‘Ruined is the kind of play that serves as a homage to all those resilient women who have to pull themselves together and lead a new life after they have been ‘ruined’. The primary aim of the playwright was to bring a problem that seemed too far away, right into the midst of contemporary society. According to what Nottage states - «But I wanted to create an emotional bridge so that when people are reading those articles, they feel that they're connecting with living, breathing human beings, not just statistics." (Lynn Nottage, 2007)

The central theme of the plot revolves around the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and traces a young woman’s nightmarish journey to a business-savvy woman running a brothel called Mama Nadi during the thick of the Civil War. The director, Seret Scott, was quite capable of unifying the whole act together as a lot of trouble was taken for the costumes, lighting, and setting of each scene. For example, most of the scenes were set in a bar or brothel that was located in a mining area in the Congo rain forest. The regular clients were rustic rebels, m, miners, and government officials who were in charge of that particular area on any given day. These people were rough and with no sympathy.

According to Nottage, “Rape has become a weapon of war” and these women were raped and mutilated most callously. The characters in the play each played their part very well and I am sure that their performances would have helped many people identify with them. Though I disliked the character of Mama Nadi, I liked the way she performed as the mistress of the brothel house. The reason why I disliked her character was that even though she was a woman herself, she had no sympathy for the other women who were so brutally treated. She goes by rules that are to be followed and everything is business for her.

One of the characters that I like in the play is Christian played by Oberon K.A. Adjepond, who supplies Mama Nadi with whatever she needs for the house. Christian is a decent character who loves poetry and spontaneously recites a few lines of poetry throughout the play. The reason why I like this character is that he is quite reliable and trustworthy, especially when considering the type of people, he is surrounded with. He tries to lend support to the ladies when the bad guys come and argues with them, but it is rather surprising that he somehow gets away with what he says.

Sophie is another character that I like in the play. I feel sorry for the way she was brutally raped. Even Mama Nadi who is considered to have a cold heart is seen to show some understanding and tenderness towards Sophie and this understanding can be seen when she expresses that she does not want Sophie to stay. The materials for Lynn Nottage’s play draw heavily from the interviews conducted with Congolese women who were witnesses to the torture and trauma experienced by these people which makes her play all the more interesting and captivating. Though the whole play is shocking and traumatic, yet there is a glimmer of hope here and there for a better life. The other elements made use of in the play are love and humor in addition to betrayal and hypocrisy.

Lynn Nottage is a great writer and is capable of bringing laughter between the tears. She very deftly brings out the tragic moments through her characters but at the same time, she could get her audience to sing and dance along with them. It is for these reasons that made her play ‘Ruined’ a play to remember while bagging the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2009.